July 31, 2004
So, we really meant to email sooner, but there was a decided lack of availability of resources (and chocolate, which was even more disturbing) where we were. We went to Chizumulu and Likoma, two large-ish islands in the middle of lake Malawi. They're actually closer to Mozambique, but due to traditional tribal allegiances. they're Malawian (though oddly, the two islands have different tribes and languages). The islands bring in almost everything they need on the Ilala, the largest ferry (and arguably the only one) on the lake. It's also the main transport option, so watching the ferry being loaded while hanging over the top railing is lots of fun. David especially liked watching people hand up single planks of timber to the first deck. And all from dug out canoes! David is convinced we each used up one of our nine lives since the Ilala was declared "unfit for service" 30 years ago. Though funnily enough, it's about as good as any other transport in Malawi.
Despite being laid low by nasty cases of strep throat [David's mysterious flu from earlier], we got our PADI certification while on Likoma, which means we can scuba dive in open water down to 18 meters "with a buddy." That's one of the reasons we've been away from email so long. We sort of missed the ferry on it's Tuesday morning run, so couldn't leave until Saturday (last week) and decided to take the scuba class in the meantime. It was lots of fun--now we just have to actually dive again.
While on Likoma we went to the health clinic in an effort to make ourselves feel better. It reminded me a lot of a sbitar (which probably only means something to PCVs): open-aired, lots of people waiting patiently while clutching their health records booklets with kids slung on their backs. Interestingly, everything was free. The clinic is supported by donor funds, mostly from the diocese in Mzuzu (the regional capital in northern Malawi) and even our antibiotics were free. Naturally we felt guilty, but it's so nice for the roughly 6000 residents (half of whom are under 15!), though there isn't technically a doctor on staff. The medical person in charge is an overqualified nurse and very nice.
This last week we spent at Nkhotakota Potteries on the lakeshore. The workshop is vaguely Harry Potter themed, which was fun. We stayed in the Gryffindor room! We learned to throw pots on an electric wheel, to make coil pots, Nkhandwe pots (a local tradition), and raku pots (Japanese firing process), but basically we learned that neither of us is a natural potter. Almost everything we did turned out wonky, but we had lots of fun. The one thing that didn't turn out wonky was our traditional pot, but that could be because Gloria, the village potter, did most of the work for us.
We leave for home early tomorrow morning and are due to arrive Monday at about 9 am, where we'll organize our photos and callously inflict them on you via Snapfish or something similar [see PicasaWeb Albums]. In the meantime, I hope you're all well and enjoying summer!
